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Loving Lately [Alternately Titled Favorite Food Finds].

Monday, November 20, 2017

I was going to include these in my Friday Favorites post from a few weeks ago, but then I decided to break it up it to it's own "themed" post. So, without further ado, a few of the food finds that I've been loving lately!

ONE.Brownies with peppermint essential oil.

I saw someone comment on one of the essential oil Instagram accounts that I follow about adding one drop of peppermint to regular brownies and I tried it a couple weeks ago and OH MY GOODNESS. Make this. MAKE IT. It is SO GOOD and so, SO easy. All you do is prepare the brownies like normal and then add one drop of peppermint, bake, and then ENJOY. Seriously amazing and would be perfect if you need a dessert to bring to Christmas dinner!

TWO.Trader Joe's pasta and sauce.

If you haven't tried either of these items at Trader Joe's, you need to. These butternut squash raviolis are my absolute favorite pasta and this sauce is amazing. Neither are healthy, but they taste amazing together. You can always throw some broccoli in there if you want a little health benefit 😉

THREE.New Disney mug and Thrify's ice cream.

On our last trip to Disneyland, I saw that Starbucks had a new 'You are Here' collection Disneyland mug so of course... I needed it, right? I actually quite like the different look and the purple on this mug.

The ice cream is because we recently found this new-to-us ice cream shop. There is this flavor called "pecan praline" that is TO DIE FOR. One night when we were there, they were restocking some of the flavors and we noticed that the carton said "Thrifty" on it. The horror thinking that this shop was just using Thrifty ice cream and passing it off as their own, buuuuuuuut then I got thinking. If this amazing pecan praline is just Thrifty, why not buy a carton AT Thrifty? So, Seth bought this one day. I thought for sure it'd be identical and I'd be in love, but sadly it's not the same. Maybe they just use Thrifty vanilla or something because the ice cream shop's ice cream is SO MUCH better.

FOUR.Rose finds.

I mean... how do you say no to a wine that has so many good things to say about you? Right?

In all seriousness, I've been on a total rose kick lately and have been wanting to try a bunch. My very favorite comes from Trader Joe's but I was recently gifted some Total Wine and More gift cards for my birthday so I figured I'd check out their selection. I picked up these three kinds and while I liked them all, the Sunday Funday was definitely my favorite of the three.

FIVE.Kind people and Starbucks cards.

Not to end this on a Debbie Downer note, but I feel like there is so much sadness and negativity in the world these days that when I was at work one day and opened an envelope to find this inside, I was beyond surprised. It's a reminder that there are still good people out there.

A new vendor sent this Starbucks card to me and included a little note. A portion of the note said "Your customer service skills are off the charts. From your first greeting, you have displayed a warm and welcoming disposition. You have continued to assist us in a professional, yet down to earth way. You are very knowledgeable and never seem too busy to assist us (yet we know you must have many other things to do). We are grateful for you!"

I was blown away. I don't even have words. To me, I'm just doing my job. I treat everyone with respect and help to the best of my ability. I don't think I'm doing anything special, but they wanted to let me know they appreciated it. And I appreciate that. Thank you notes are such a lost art. I almost feel like politeness is a lost art these days. I went out of my way that day to say "thank you" and "have a good day" to everyone I spoke to. We need to love more. We need to say thank you more. We should hold the door for people. We should tell people when we appreciate them. We should just smile and say hi. It takes just as much energy to be nice as it does to be mean. Let's choose to be nicer. Be more kind. Help each other. Come together to support each other.

Any food finds that you've been loving lately that I need to try?Any good recipes recommendations you want to share?

7 comments:

Going to make those brownies this season for sure..!! Just one little drop of peppermint oil?! One of my favorite finds at TJ's was dark chocolate covered Oreo-like cookies with peppermint crunchies sprinkled on them (they're in a tall skinny box, don't remember the name). So. Good. Ahh, wine.. Soon enough, soon enough. ;)So nice to be acknowledged/appreciated!! But like you said it's bizarre that doing the right thing and just being kind/helpful is so out-of-the-ordinary these days.. Such a good reminder to pass that along and let others know they are appreciated as well. :)

Brownies with peppermint essential oil? That sounds amazing!! I really wish we had a Trader Joes near us. Everyone always finds the most amazing things there. How nice of your vendor to send you a Starbucks giftcard! I love that.

I don't even use essential oils, but now I need that peppermint. Like, yesterday. I saw the new DL coffee mugs at Starbucks not too long ago and was thiiiiiisclose to getting one. I think you've convinced me I need it. I hope you tried all three of those Rosés in one day, because that's sounds like a really fun day. And that was the sweetest to receive that Starbucks card. I'm with you. The world just needs more kindness.

Hello and welcome to my blog! I'm Elizabeth. Wife to Seth and mama to Mason. Lover of Starbucks, chocolate anything, and sunshine. Here on my blog, you'll find a little bit of everything as I navigate through motherhood with a son with autism. Pop around, stay awhile. So glad you stopped by!

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